Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 162: The Transformation of a Man-Made Disaster

Almost an hour had passed, but the group still had not yet reached the foot of Yanxia Peak. They were still walking up Yun Mountain, but much slower than Qi Wen’s pace when he came down.

Qi Wen was already used to walking around Yun Mountain, but for Huang Xingye, the mountain trail was bumpy and not very accessible for his four servants, especially as they were carrying things. Li Mian was much better off.

Li Mian was a martial artist, after all. Although he was not a martial arts master, he could still be considered an important figure in Dongle County. Of the officials in the county government, only the county Captain was more skilled than him. Other constables could not match Li Mian in an individual fight, unless they fought desperately.

Looking at Qi Wen who was walking briskly in front of him, then at the baskets of items trailing behind him, in front of him, Li Mian couldn’t help but sigh.

“Does this young Taoist priest really not know martial arts? His physique certainly does not show that he is accustomed to walking on mountain trails!”

Huang Xingye looked at the loads carried by the servants. Two bundles were shared between the four of them. The baskets hung on their shoulder poles were not big, containing cloth, brocade, wine, and cakes. The weight of everything combined likely did not add up to the weight of Qi Wen’s basket. After all, Qi Wen’s basket pack was filled with bacon, eggs, pumpkins, taro, and other produce from the farmers, all of which were quite the heavy goods.

“Haah…haah… it’s not strange, it’s not too unusual. The more unusual Cloud Mountain Temple… haah… The more… The more it proves that we made the right choice… haah…”

Huang Xingye was getting older; although he hadn’t gained much weight, his physical strength was a little poor. After climbing the mountain for so long, he was out of breath.

Qi Wen still felt quite relaxed at the moment. In truth, if it had been him from the past, he would also have been very tired after carrying heavy loads for such a long time. However, he recently felt that his physical strength had greatly improved, and even going down the mountain to fetch water was accomplished at a brisk pace.

After climbing up the gentle slope, they finally reached the foot of Yanxia Peak. Qi Wen turned around excitedly and shouted at the group a couple feet behind him.

“Everyone, hurry up, we have reached Yanxia Peak, we can start hiking now!”

Hm? They could start climbing now?

So… what were they doing up until now?

Huang Xingye and others were a little stunned. They thought they were almost at Cloud Mountain Temple, but they didn’t expect him to say something like that. They gazed up at the towering Yanxia Peak and swallowed subconsciously.

Without considering any altitude calculations or their current height on the hillside, just from where Qi Wen was standing, the total height of Yanxia Peak was about 150 zhang, with Cloud Mountain Temple located about 100 zhang up.¹

Although it wasn’t really all that high, the trail’s slope was much steeper. They walked and stopped for rest many times during the climb. By the time they approached Cloud Mountain Temple, Huang Xingye and his servants were already exhausted. Even Li Mian, who had been supporting Huang Xingye, was sweating profusely.

Qi Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve cuff, and shouted excitedly towards the Taoist temple.

“Master, Mr. Ji! We have guests!”

After a few shouts, Taoist Qingsong and Ji Yuan, who had already heard the noise and movement outside, came out of the temple together.

“Hahaha… A group of pilgrims have come from afar. I apologize for not being here to welcome you!”

“Please, please, come to Cloud Mountain Temple to rest!”

Taoist Qingsong greeted the group and walked forward with Ji Yuan. One by one, he took over the load from the servants and helped them carry it into the temple. This was not a place to refuse gifts.

Inside the temple, Ji Yuan and the two Taoists brought out several stools and chairs from the kitchen and the to adjoining rooms, and ushered the guests over to sit and rest in the kitchen.

In addition to the tea from the Taoist Temple, they also took out some of the snacks brought by Huang Xingye and his group, and ate them together.

They had consumed a lot of physical energy, so they were too busy to stand on ceremony, even with the gifts they had brought.

After the visitors had rested for a while, particularly Huang Xingye, who had recovered his breath, Taoist Qingsong asked them about their purpose in coming here.

“I wonder, why have the pilgrims before me come to visit my Cloud Mountain Temple? I heard from from Qi Wen that you came to express your gratitude. This gift is a bit much.”

Huang Xingye sorted out his thoughts. This time, his words were quite different from what he had said to Qi Wen before. He opened his mouth and asked for help.

“Master Qingsong, you must save me! I’m in big trouble!”

Huang Xingye stood up and bowed with cupped hands repeatedly while begging.

“Mr. Huang, what happened?”

Taoist Qingsong, who hurriedly stood up to support Huang Xingye, was also surprised. Ji Yuan, who was sitting near the kitchen door, frowned.

“Taoist Master, I would first like to thank you for the previous matter. You saved my life when you helped interpret the fortune for me that day…”

Huang Xingye first reiterated what he had said to Qi Wen on the road before, but this time with much more detail. He even included the fact that he suspected the Land God had saved his life.

“Since Mr. Huang has already reported the case to the officials, and the county government is making every effort to investigate, then even if the main culprit temporarily escapes, it should not be a threat to you.”

Taoist Qingsong was a little puzzled.

“Oh, Taoist Master, it would be wonderful if that were the case! But, some time ago, I felt grateful for the Land God’s help, so I went to the Land God Temple to express my gratitude! Although the temple in our town had not yet been repaired, the statue of the Land God had been erected, so I offered his a feast of fish and red meat…”

So far it all seemed good, but the people around him who didn’t know what had happened were listening in confusion. Huang Xingye paused, then continued.

“After I gave the offerings, I used jiaobei² to ask the Land God whether the danger had passed… However, the jiaobei fell to the ground three times without once showing a positive divine response.³ Anxious, I threw the jiaobei six more times in succession. After a total of nine attempts, there was still no affirmation. On the tenth attempt, one of the jiaobei blocks even chipped…”

“Hiss……”

At his words, Taoist Qingsong gasped. He was well versed in divination, and he knew better than Huang Xingye how ominous this result was. If Ji Yuan had not been sitting next to him, he might have lost his composure by now.

Like the fortune sticks, the jiaobei was a common divination tool found in temples. It was usually made from the roots of a golden bamboo, split in half. Sometimes, it would be replaced by two shells of a clam. On average, it was about one finger long and two fingers wide.

It was often used in conjunction with fortune sticks, or simply to divine good or bad luck. It was a simple way for pilgrims to commune with the gods. Some results would be effective while others would not. This was dependent on the gods themselves and the piety of the pilgrim.

The pilgrims would drop the jiaobei from a height of several feet. If one side faced up while the other faced down, it represented the harmony of Yin and Yang, which represented a shengyao, a “divine affirmation” or “auspicious” answer. If both sides were facing up, or both were facing down, it was an “ominous” sign.⁴

In Huang Xingye’s case, it was obviously impossible for the Land God to fail to respond.

“So, because the Land God responded to you with a sign of danger, Mr. Huang came to me to help you more carefully figure it out?”

Taoist Qingsong analyzed it for a while, but saw Huang Xingye shaking his head uneasily.

“More than that, more than that… The Land God…”

At this point, Huang Xingye showed some lingering fear, and spoke in a more nervous tone.

“The next day, I returned to the Land God temple to burn incense in a restless mood. I found that many people in the town were gathered in front of the temple. After inquiring, I learned that the Land God’s statue had been damaged the night before. I went into the temple and saw that the Land God’s left hand bad been torn off…”

As Huang Xingye related this, his expression was extremely ugly. At that moment, he suddenly knew that the statue of the Lord Land God was definitely not destroyed by bandits as the villagers had gossiped about, but was most likely destroyed by some terrible entity.

When everyone present heard Huang Xingye’s words, they all felt a chill rise from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads. Even people like Li Mian, who had already heard the story, felt the same way.

Taoist Qingsong’s face turned even paler. Even if he was usually rather careless with is life, he knew that this matter was definitely beyond his ability.

“Mr. Huang, this… Cloud Mountain Temple is just a small temple in the mountains, and I am just a poor Taoist who tells fortunes. How could I interfere with your affairs…”

Huang Xingye’s expression grew even more distorted, and he kept bowing and begging.

“Master Qingsong, I know that I was blind at the beginning. You actually wanted to intervene in front of the temple that day, but I didn’t listen and had a bad attitude, so I left. Please give me another chance. I, Huang, will never forget your kindness!”

Taoist Qingsong also panicked. This matter was too strange. He even forgot that the great god Ji Yuan was sitting right next to him.

“Mr. Huang, you misunderstood, I…”

However, before Qi Xuan could finish speaking, Ji Yuan, who had a serious face, spoke out loud for the first time.

“May I ask Mr. Huang if he has been to the City God Temple of Dongle County to ask the City God for aid?”

Ji Yuan’s voice was clear and strong, and it seemed to have some kind of serene power, calming the emotions of everyone present.

There was something strange about all of this. How could Huang Xingye, a mortal, still be alive and well when the opponent had the ability to attack the Land God?

1. Multiply by 10 to get the distance in feet. Multiply by 3.3 to get the distance in meters.
2. Jiaobei, also known as moon blocks are wooden divination tools thrown three times, in pairs, to divine the answer to a yes/no question.
3. 聖筊 (shèngjiǎo or shèng yáo): divine answer “yes,” one block flat and the other upside-down.
4. This is actually slightly off: if both sides are facing down, that is a “laughing” response, in that the gods are “laughing” at you in the way the curved pieces rock on the floor. This can be interpreted as a “dumb question” response OR an an EMPHATIC “NO”